Main menu

Join more than 217,685 Americans who want bold action on climate change.

The Future of Coal is a Little Smoggy

30

May

The Future of Coal is a Little Smoggy

By Eli

While the capture and storage of emissions from coal-fired power plants is sometimes touted as a cost-effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, an article published in today's New York Times emphasizes the rising costs and growing uncertainty behind the technology. The front-page article highlights cancellations of high profile carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects like FutureGen, and notes that

““Only a handful of small projects survive, and the recent cancellations mean that most of this work has come to a halt, raising doubts that the technique can be ready any time in the next few decades.”

So what does it all mean?

We simply do not have decades to waste waiting for uncertain CCS technology. This is especially true when the promise of clean renewable energy is right around the corner. The wind is blowing and the sun is shining bright; why would we sit around waiting for a way to keep burning coal?

Instead of investing billions to retrofit a dirty, outdated technology like coal, we must invest in renewables to jumpstart the clean energy economy we need to halt climate change. Let's stop waiting for coal to clean up its act, and move forward into a renewable future.